So how is your hygiene schedule looking? I’m guessing it looks a lot better since you started working your Continuing Care Report on a regular basis throughout the week. Sometimes a courtesy call is all it takes to get a past due patient scheduled.
Now, I hate to be the bearer of bad news again, but now you have a 90 minute opening in your hygiene room and that 60 minute prophy appointment just won’t fill it. Because I know you want to fill every precious moment for your hygienist so she can be as productive as possible, I have another great tool for you! In addition to working the Unscheduled List and the Continuing Care Report on a regular basis, you can also follow up on patients that have unscheduled scaling and root planing treatment to complete. I suggest using the Dentrix Treatment Manager Report.
Now, what would be perfect for that 90 minute opening? 2 quads of gum therapy. If you are planning your gum therapy treatments through the Dentrix Patient Chart it will be a piece of cake for you to pull a list of gum therapy patients to fill that opening in your hygiene chair.
How do you pull this list? From the Appointment Book click on the icon at the top of the screen with the green chair and a dollar sign on it, this is the Treatment Manager Report. You are going to filter this report down and only search for procedure code D4341 through D4342. See the screen shot below.
Now that you have generated a list of patients to call, I recommend you do a little research before you pick up the phone. Remember you are not calling about a regular recall visit that is usually covered by insurance at 100%. So, before you pick up the phone, you’ll want to check their insurance benefits, current account balance and any previous notes about the patient’s treatment plan.. That way, you can be sure you are calling the most appropriate patients and that you’ll have everything at your fingertips to answer any of their questions.
And, (pop quiz!) when you do call the patient – where are you going to document the call? See my discussion of the Office Journal in my last post on the Continuing Care list if you drew a blank on that one. The Office Journal link is at the top of the report for easy access, and it offers a handy and integrated way to keep a log of your communications with each patient.
I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that the Hygiene Coordinator has a big job in keeping the hygiene chair full and productive. Over the last three posts, we’ve now looked at three great tools she can use to make her job easier, while keeping the Hygiene room booked and the hygienists happy:
1. The Unscheduled List
2. The Continuing Care List, and
3. The Treatment Manager Report
Plus – we threw in a bonus tool, The Office Journal, which works alongside the lists and reports to support you in tracking your contacts with each patient.
I know that these tools and resources will help you manage your hygiene in a more efficient and productive way – give them a whirl and put them to work for you!
Dayna loves her work. She has over 25 years of experience in the dental industry, and she’s passionate about building efficient, consistent, and secure practice management systems. Dayna knows that your entire day revolves around your practice management software—the better you learn to use it, the more productive and stress-free your office will be. In 2016, Dayna founded Novonee ™, The Premier Dentrix Community, to help cultivate Dentrix super-users all over the country. Learn more from Dayna at www.novonee.com and contact Dayna at dayna@novonee.com.